Tag: taxes

I am happy to announce that today, for the first time in 31 years, the House of Representatives passed the first significant tax reform. Since 1986, Americans have been forced to stand idly by as our state and local governments took more and more of our hard-earned dollars.

Thankfully, today, the House of Representatives said no more.

After numerous conferences, meetings, committee hearings and public debates, we were able to pass major tax reform that puts American families and the middle-class first.

The final product isn’t perfect but gets us started and overhauling an archaic and overly burdensome tax code. And most importantly, Congress listened to the American people and made changes that were demanded.

But, we need your help to get it over the finish line. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act still has to pass the Senate, and as we saw with health care, that’s easier said than done. We cannot let the hard work of the house die in the Senate once again. So, in the coming weeks, let your Senators hear from you. Write them emails and call their offices, place letters to the editor in your local papers, and make your voice heard.

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act after dozens of hours of debate and conversation. Chairman Kevin Brady introduced two amendments that were added to the bill to better reflect the demands of the American people – one big change is retaining the Adoption Tax Credit.

The Tax Foundation estimates that under this bill, 19,525 jobs will be added in Minnesota and middle-class Minnesota families are estimated to gain $3,090 in after-tax income.

Last week was a big week in Washington, D.C. The House passed the budget, which is a fiscally responsible framework that garnered wide support from conservative groups across the country. I was proud to support this budget, which paves the way for the first substantial tax reform this nation has seen in more than 30 years.

Yesterday, the tax reform text was released, and you can read the bill here. Even before the proposed bill text was released, democrats were desperately working to fight tax cuts and reform. Even the Washington Post gave “four Pinocchios” to Senate Democrat claims that it would be “a hefty tax hike” for the middle class and wrote “actually, it’s the opposite.”

Here in Minnesota, we are hit especially hard by our nation’s archaic, complicated and excessive tax code. According to the tax collectors themselves, Minnesotans fall among the top three states whose citizens pay the most taxes per person. And just last week, we found out that Minnesota has the 5th highest tax burden in the country.

Simply put: at nearly 75,000 pages, our tax code is out of control. Studies show that the IRS imposes more than 8.1 billion hours of paperwork on the American people and this year, total tax compliance is expected to top $400 billion. Thankfully, help is on the way. Read More